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Chapter 21 The Eleventh Tuesday - We Talk About Our Culture (38)
The Eleventh Tuesday
第十一个星期二
We Talk About Our Culture
我们聊了聊我们的文化
I asked Morrie why he hadn't moved somewhere else when he was younger.
我问莫瑞为什么他年轻的时候没有搬到其他地方生活。
"Where?"
“搬去哪里？”
I don't know. South America. New Guinea. Someplace not as selfish as America.
我不知道。南美洲？新几内亚之类的。一些不像美国那么自私的国家。
"Every society has its own problems,” Morrie said, lifting his eyebrows, the closest he could come to a shrug.
“每个社会都有自己的问题，”莫瑞说着，抬起眉毛，他所能做出的最接近耸肩的动作。
"The way to do it, I think, isn't to run away. You have to work at creating your own culture.”
“办法我认为，并不是去逃避。你得致力于去创造你自己的文化。”
"Look, no matter where you live, the biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don’t see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can become. But if you're surrounded by people who say 'I want mine now,' you end up with a few people with every¬thing and a military to keep the poor ones from rising up and stealing it."
“听着，不管你在哪里生活，我们人所共有的最大缺陷就是短视。我们看不到我们能成为什么样的人。我们应该关注自己的潜力，向着我们可能成为的一切去延伸自己。但是如果你身边都被那些总说‘现在我就要我那份’的人围绕，那结果就是少数人拥有一切以及一支防止穷人起义夺走他们这一切的军队。”
Morrie looked over my shoulder to the far window.
莫瑞越过我的肩膀看向远处的窗外。
Sometimes you could hear a passing truck or a whip of the wind.
有时你能听到经过的卡车和鞭打般的风声。
He gazed for a moment at his neighbors' houses, then continued.
他凝视着邻居的房子好一会儿，然后继续说。
"The problem, Mitch, is that we don't believe we are as much alike as we are. Whites and blacks. Catholics and Protestant, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about our own.”
“问题就是，米契，我们不相信我们之间有多么相似。白人与黑人。天主教徒与新教教徒，男人与女人。如果我们能更加相似地去看待彼此，我们可能会非常热切的加入这个世界上的同一个人类大家庭，并且像我们在乎自己的小家一样去在乎这个人类大家庭。”
"But believe me, when you are dying, you see it is true. We all have the same beginning—birth—and we all have the same end——death. So how different can we be?”
“但是相信我，当你快要死的时候，你会看到确实是这样的。我们都有着相同的开始——出生——而且我们都有相同的结局——死亡。所以我们又会怎么不同呢？“
"Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you."
“投入到人类家庭当中去。投入到人群中去。为你爱和爱你的人建立一个小社区。“
He squeezed my hand gently.
他轻轻地捏了捏我的手。
I squeezed back harder.
我用力地的握了握他的手。
And like that carnival contest where you bang a hammer and watch the disk rise up the pole, I could almost see my body heat rise up Morrie's chest and neck into his cheeks and eyes.
就像狂欢节比赛你挥动大锤猛敲然后看到磁盘推高指示杆一样，我几乎可以看到我的体温仿佛流动到莫瑞的胸膛和脖子，向他的脸颊和眼睛延伸过去。
He smiled.
他微笑着。
"In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right?
“在生命的最初，当我们还是婴儿的时候，我们依赖他人生存，对吧？“
And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right?"
在生命的终点，当你向我一样，你也需要依赖他人生存，对吧？
His voice dropped to a whisper. "But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well."
他的声音降低到几近低语。“但是这当中有个秘密：两者之间，我们仍然需要依赖他人。“
Later that afternoon, Connie and I went into the bedroom to watch the O.J. Simpson verdict.
那天下午晚些时候，康妮和我去卧室看O.J. 辛普森案的法庭判决。
It was a tense scene as the principals all turned to face the jury, Simpson, in his blue suit, surrounded by his small army of lawyers, the prosecutors who wanted him behind bars just a few feet a
way.
那是一个非常紧张的场景，全部的委托人都转过头去看向陪审团，辛普森则穿着蓝色西装，被他的小型律师军团围绕着，希望将他送进监狱关起来的公诉人就在几英尺之外。
When the foreman read the verdict—"not guilty“—Connie shrieked.
当陪审团主席宣布裁决——“无罪“——康妮忍不住尖叫起来。
“Oh my God!”
“我的天哪！“
We watched as Simpson hugged his lawyers.
我们看着辛普森拥抱他的律师们。
We listened as the commentators tried to explain what it all meant
我们听着评论员试图解释这意味着什么。
We saw crowds of blacks celebrating in the streets outside the courthouse, and crowds of whites sitting stunned inside restaurants.
我们看到聚集在法院外的黑人们欢呼庆祝，坐在餐馆里的白人们目瞪口呆。
The decision was being hailed as momentous, even though murders take place every day.
即使每天都有谋杀在发生，这个决定仍然被称赞是重大的。
Connie went out in the hall.
康妮起身去了门厅。
She had seen enough.
她看的够够的了。
I heard the door to Morrie's study close.
我听见了莫瑞书房的门关上了。
I stared at the TV set.
我盯着有线电视盒子。
Everyone in the world is watching this thing, I told myself.
世界上的每个人都在看这件事，我对自己说。
Then, from the other room, I heard the ruffling of Morrie's being lifted from his chair and I smiled.
然后，在另外一个房间，我听见了莫瑞被从他的椅子上抬起的忙乱声，我笑了。
As "The Trial of the Century" reached its dramatic conclusion, my old professor was sitting on the toilet.
就在“世纪大审判“来到它戏剧性的结局之时，我的老教授正坐在马桶上拉屎。
It is 1979, a basketball game in the Brandeis gym.
那是1979年，布兰迪斯大学的体育馆正在举办篮球比赛。
The team is doing well, and the student section begins a chant, ''We're number one! We're number one!"
队伍打的很好，围观的学生们开始呼喊加油口号，“我们第一！我们第一！“
Morrie is sitting nearby.
莫瑞也正在附近坐着。
He is puzzled by the cheer.
他对欢呼声感到很困惑。
At one point, in the midst of “We're number one!” he rises and yells, “What's wrong with being number two?”
趁着某个时刻，在“我们第一！”当中的间隙，莫瑞站起来大喊道，当第二名又咋啦？！
The students look at him.
学生们都看着他。
They stop chanting.
他们停止了欢呼。
He sits down, smiling and triumphant.
他坐下来，胜利的微笑着。
原著：Mitch Albom
View all episodes
By Vera_the wild readerThe Eleventh Tuesday
第十一个星期二
We Talk About Our Culture
我们聊了聊我们的文化
I asked Morrie why he hadn't moved somewhere else when he was younger.
我问莫瑞为什么他年轻的时候没有搬到其他地方生活。
"Where?"
“搬去哪里？”
I don't know. South America. New Guinea. Someplace not as selfish as America.
我不知道。南美洲？新几内亚之类的。一些不像美国那么自私的国家。
"Every society has its own problems,” Morrie said, lifting his eyebrows, the closest he could come to a shrug.
“每个社会都有自己的问题，”莫瑞说着，抬起眉毛，他所能做出的最接近耸肩的动作。
"The way to do it, I think, isn't to run away. You have to work at creating your own culture.”
“办法我认为，并不是去逃避。你得致力于去创造你自己的文化。”
"Look, no matter where you live, the biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don’t see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can become. But if you're surrounded by people who say 'I want mine now,' you end up with a few people with every¬thing and a military to keep the poor ones from rising up and stealing it."
“听着，不管你在哪里生活，我们人所共有的最大缺陷就是短视。我们看不到我们能成为什么样的人。我们应该关注自己的潜力，向着我们可能成为的一切去延伸自己。但是如果你身边都被那些总说‘现在我就要我那份’的人围绕，那结果就是少数人拥有一切以及一支防止穷人起义夺走他们这一切的军队。”
Morrie looked over my shoulder to the far window.
莫瑞越过我的肩膀看向远处的窗外。
Sometimes you could hear a passing truck or a whip of the wind.
有时你能听到经过的卡车和鞭打般的风声。
He gazed for a moment at his neighbors' houses, then continued.
他凝视着邻居的房子好一会儿，然后继续说。
"The problem, Mitch, is that we don't believe we are as much alike as we are. Whites and blacks. Catholics and Protestant, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about our own.”
“问题就是，米契，我们不相信我们之间有多么相似。白人与黑人。天主教徒与新教教徒，男人与女人。如果我们能更加相似地去看待彼此，我们可能会非常热切的加入这个世界上的同一个人类大家庭，并且像我们在乎自己的小家一样去在乎这个人类大家庭。”
"But believe me, when you are dying, you see it is true. We all have the same beginning—birth—and we all have the same end——death. So how different can we be?”
“但是相信我，当你快要死的时候，你会看到确实是这样的。我们都有着相同的开始——出生——而且我们都有相同的结局——死亡。所以我们又会怎么不同呢？“
"Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you."
“投入到人类家庭当中去。投入到人群中去。为你爱和爱你的人建立一个小社区。“
He squeezed my hand gently.
他轻轻地捏了捏我的手。
I squeezed back harder.
我用力地的握了握他的手。
And like that carnival contest where you bang a hammer and watch the disk rise up the pole, I could almost see my body heat rise up Morrie's chest and neck into his cheeks and eyes.
就像狂欢节比赛你挥动大锤猛敲然后看到磁盘推高指示杆一样，我几乎可以看到我的体温仿佛流动到莫瑞的胸膛和脖子，向他的脸颊和眼睛延伸过去。
He smiled.
他微笑着。
"In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right?
“在生命的最初，当我们还是婴儿的时候，我们依赖他人生存，对吧？“
And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right?"
在生命的终点，当你向我一样，你也需要依赖他人生存，对吧？
His voice dropped to a whisper. "But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well."
他的声音降低到几近低语。“但是这当中有个秘密：两者之间，我们仍然需要依赖他人。“
Later that afternoon, Connie and I went into the bedroom to watch the O.J. Simpson verdict.
那天下午晚些时候，康妮和我去卧室看O.J. 辛普森案的法庭判决。
It was a tense scene as the principals all turned to face the jury, Simpson, in his blue suit, surrounded by his small army of lawyers, the prosecutors who wanted him behind bars just a few feet a
way.
那是一个非常紧张的场景，全部的委托人都转过头去看向陪审团，辛普森则穿着蓝色西装，被他的小型律师军团围绕着，希望将他送进监狱关起来的公诉人就在几英尺之外。
When the foreman read the verdict—"not guilty“—Connie shrieked.
当陪审团主席宣布裁决——“无罪“——康妮忍不住尖叫起来。
“Oh my God!”
“我的天哪！“
We watched as Simpson hugged his lawyers.
我们看着辛普森拥抱他的律师们。
We listened as the commentators tried to explain what it all meant
我们听着评论员试图解释这意味着什么。
We saw crowds of blacks celebrating in the streets outside the courthouse, and crowds of whites sitting stunned inside restaurants.
我们看到聚集在法院外的黑人们欢呼庆祝，坐在餐馆里的白人们目瞪口呆。
The decision was being hailed as momentous, even though murders take place every day.
即使每天都有谋杀在发生，这个决定仍然被称赞是重大的。
Connie went out in the hall.
康妮起身去了门厅。
She had seen enough.
她看的够够的了。
I heard the door to Morrie's study close.
我听见了莫瑞书房的门关上了。
I stared at the TV set.
我盯着有线电视盒子。
Everyone in the world is watching this thing, I told myself.
世界上的每个人都在看这件事，我对自己说。
Then, from the other room, I heard the ruffling of Morrie's being lifted from his chair and I smiled.
然后，在另外一个房间，我听见了莫瑞被从他的椅子上抬起的忙乱声，我笑了。
As "The Trial of the Century" reached its dramatic conclusion, my old professor was sitting on the toilet.
就在“世纪大审判“来到它戏剧性的结局之时，我的老教授正坐在马桶上拉屎。
It is 1979, a basketball game in the Brandeis gym.
那是1979年，布兰迪斯大学的体育馆正在举办篮球比赛。
The team is doing well, and the student section begins a chant, ''We're number one! We're number one!"
队伍打的很好，围观的学生们开始呼喊加油口号，“我们第一！我们第一！“
Morrie is sitting nearby.
莫瑞也正在附近坐着。
He is puzzled by the cheer.
他对欢呼声感到很困惑。
At one point, in the midst of “We're number one!” he rises and yells, “What's wrong with being number two?”
趁着某个时刻，在“我们第一！”当中的间隙，莫瑞站起来大喊道，当第二名又咋啦？！
The students look at him.
学生们都看着他。
They stop chanting.
他们停止了欢呼。
He sits down, smiling and triumphant.
他坐下来，胜利的微笑着。
原著：Mitch Albom